Squeegee and the mounting thereof



Sept. 18, 1928. v 1,684,477

" J. DEMAND SQUEEGEE AND THE MOUNTING THEREOF Filed Nov. 20, 1926 INVENTOR 0a% @W/mmwb By Attorneys,

Patented Sept. 18, 1928.

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JOSEPH DEMAND, E NEW YORK, N. Y.

SQUEEGEE AND THE MOUNTING THEREOF.

Application filed November 20, 1926. Serial No. 149,568.

This invention relates to improvements in squeegees such as are used as the wiping elements of automobile windshield cleaning de- Vices, and to improvements in the mounting of such implements.

' It is an object of the invention to provide a squeegee which shall be simple in construction and therefore economical, but which shall be durable and peculiarly adapted-to accom l0 plish its intended purpose by closely following the slight irregularities usually present in the surface to be cleaned.

It is a further object of the invention to so mount the squeegee that its cleaning effect w shall be approximately uniform throughout its length.

In the tion- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a squeegee embodying my invention, the usual attaching element and supporting arm therefor being indicated in broken lines.

Fig. 2 is a side view of the squeegee illustrated in Fig. 1, parts thereof being brolcen Q5 away to more clearly disclose underlying drawings illustrating the invenparts, and parts being indicated in longitu dinal section.

Fig. 3 is a view of the squeegee 1n cross-section along the line 33 of Fig. 2, the usual attaching element and binding screw being indicated in broken lines;

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic representation of the squeegee mounted for reciprocating movement about a center of oscillation.

In the form of the invention herein disclosed for purposes of illustration it com prises a supporting bar 20 and a sheath 21 preferably of some relatively soft waterproof material adapted for use as the cleaning element of the squeegee. If desired, a.

portion of the sheath may be extended to form a lip 22 adapted to beused as the working portion of' the implement.

The bar 20 should be of some non-circular form in cross-section, as'indicatedin Fig. 3,

in order thatunintended rotary motion of the cleaning element about the bar may be prevented. The bar should also be of a sufficiently rigid material to. satisfactorily perform its intended function as the holding and stiffening element of the squeegee, and it should preferably be of such material and relatlve proportions as to render the squeegee as a whole somewhat flexible. In its preferred form this bar 20 may, therefore, be a relative- 1y thin stripof flat steel or other appropriate metal, as indicated in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings. A relatively thin metal bar of such rectangular cross-section is adapted to prevent unintended relative movement be tween the cleaning element and the bar, and

is adapted to permit a slight bending of the squeegee as a whole in a plane parallel to that of the surface to be cleaned.

The covering element 21 should be of some relatively soft material adapted to closely follow the surface to be cleaned, and should also be of a material adapted to protect the metal supporting bar and thereby prevent oxidation or corrosion. One material which has been found quite satisfactory for such purpose is soft rubber.

If desired, the covering element may be extended slightlybeyond and closed over the ends of the supporting'bar, as indicated at 23, so asto completely seal the bar and exclude themoisture of the atmosphere.

The squeegee may-be manufactured either by preparing a covering element having a portion in the form of a flattened tube to receive the supporting bar which may be subsequently inserted endwise, or the rubber of the covering element may be applied to the supporting bar in a green state and subsequently vulcanized, A covering element having a flattened tubular portion appro priate for the intended purpose may be formed by extrusion inthe manner in which commercial rubber tubing of small diameters is made. If the covering element is first prepared and the supporting bar subsequently inserted, the latter may, if desired, be coated with liquid cement before its insertion so as to cause the covering element to firmly adhere thereto, and the inner surfaces of the tubular portions of the covering element which extend beyond the ends of the bar, as at 23, may also be united by liquid cement. However, the use of such cement to fasten the covering element to the bar is not essential in view of the non-circular cross-sectional form of the supporting bar and the relatively fiat tubular portion of the covering element within which A it is enclosed which alone satisfactorily prevents undesired relative movement between said parts.

A squeegee of the above-described character may be pivotally secured to the end of the usual supporting arm 24 (Fig. 1) by means of the usual attaching element 25 and fastening screw 26 (Fig. 3). The screw may be passed through one leg of the attaching elemcnt, thence through an opening 27 (Fig. 2) in the squeegee, and have its end firmly secured in a threaded opening in the opposite leg of said element as at 28. The threaded end of the screw 26 should preferably be shouldered or the threaded portion should be so disposed that the screw can be drawn into firm engagement with the threaded leg of the attaching element without causing the two legs thereof to clamp the squeegee and prevent the intended free pivotal movement of the latter about the screw. The screw 26 serves as means to prevent relative endwise movementbetween the covering element and the supporting bar when not cemented together or secured by vulcanization.

the resultof the discovery that a squeegee pivotally mounted at the center in accordance with the practice followed in the prior art, when attached to a windshield cleaning device by which it is caused to move in a circular are about a center of oscillation O, Fig. 4, over the surface S, S, to be cleaned, is most effective at the part most distantly removed from the point of pivotal support and least effective at a point nearest said support. In

A the preferred form of this invention, therewith the abovedescribed invention, although.

fore, the opening 27 to receive the screw 26 of the attaching element is not centrally disposed with respect to the length of the squeegee but is placed slightly off center. A relative location of this'opening 27 which has given satisfactory results is such that its approximate distances from the ends 29, 30' arc'respectively as five is to four. When so placed, the cleaning effect of the working element of the squee ee is substantially uniform from end to end? Squeegees manufactured in accordance relatively inexp sive are usually durable for thereason that the metal supporting bar is entirely enclosed and protected from moisture, as a. result of which it is free from 'any tendency to rust or corrode. The alvanizing, j apanning, or other treatment 0 the surface of the metal to protect it from the elements and render it sightly becomes unnecessary, thereby resulting in a material saving. The inserted supporting bar is not An important feature of this invention is,

only smaller and simpler than the externally disposed structure of the prior art, thereby resulting in a saving of material and labor, but the inserted bar lends itself more readily to a form which will permit the squeegee to have the requisite degree of flexibility to keep all parts of the wiper in contact with the surface to be cleaned. The pivotal mounting of the squeegee at a point slightly removed from its center tends to cause its cleaning effect to be uniform throughout its length.

Another, important feature of squeegees constructed in accordance with this invention is that there are no metal surfaces between which the working element is confined and over the edges of which it is constantly bent,

as is true of squeegees having the working element inounted within an enveloping metal support.

The invention should not be regarded as limited to the specific form of device herein selected for purposes of illustration, but is intended to include modifications and variations thereof within the scope of the appended claims.

hat I claim is: v 1. A squeegee comprising a flexible metal bar of non-circular cross-sectional form, a protective sheath of relatively softrmoistureproof material enveloping said bar and covering all surfaces thereof including its ends,

and a flexible .li extending from one of the,

margins of sai element.

2. A squeegee comprising a relatively thin fiat metal bar to serve as a flexible su port and a cleaning element of relatively so t material having a moisture-proof protective portion in the form ofa sheath enveloping said bar.

3. A squeegee comprising a relatively thin flat metal bar to serve as a flexible 511 port and a cleaning element of relatively sofia masheath to form a cleaning tcrial having a moisture-proof protective said bar, said sheath having a flexible lip extending along one'of its margins to serve as a wi er.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name.

JOSEPH DEMAND.

portion in the form of a sheath enveloping ioo 

